Poverty and Poor Law Reform in Nineteenth Century Britain, 1834-1914: From Chadwick to Booth (Seminar Studies in History)

"The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 is one of the most important pieces of social legislation ever enacted. Its principles and the workhouse system dominated attitudes to welfare provision for the next 80 years. This new Seminar Study explores the changing ideas to poverty over this period and assesses current debates on Victorian attitudes to the poor. David Englander reviews the old system of poor relief; he considers how the New Poor Law was enacted and received and looks at how it worked in practice. The chapter on the Scottish experience will be particularly welcomed, as will Dr Englander's discussion of the place of the Poor Law within British history." --from book description, Amazon.com The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 is one of the most important pieces of social legislation ever enacted. Its principles, and the workhouse system it created, dominated attitudes to welfare provision for the next eighty years. This new Seminar Study explores the changing ideas to poverty over this periode and assesses current debates on Victorian attitudes to the poor. David Englander begins his study by reviewing the old system of poor relief and considers how perceptions of poverty changed from being a "natural" to a "social" condition under the impact of industrialisation, urbanisation and war. He then considers how the New Poor Law was enacted and received and how it worked in practice. There is a detailed examination of what life was really like in the workhouse, from the design of the new establishments, to the food the inmates ate and the problems of discipline. Also particulary welcome is the chapter on the Scottish experience and Dr Englander's discussion of the place of the Poor Law within British history. The main text is supplemented by a wide range of fascinating primary source material. Not only has the author included all the key documents (for example the Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1834, and the Chamberlain Circular of 1886) but he has also include moving petitions from the poor themselves. In addiditon, Dr Englander has provided a useful glossary of terms and mini-biographies of all the key personalities mentioned in the text. Up-to-date, authoritative and accessible, this book will be welcomed by anyone studying nineteenth-century British history This work explores the changing attitudes to poverty from Victorian times to the outbreak of World War One. It is supplemented by a range of primary source material including the Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1834